


Tea Party

by thebigbengal



Category: Twin Peaks
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, not a whole lot but it's there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-03
Updated: 2019-09-03
Packaged: 2020-09-26 10:21:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20388142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebigbengal/pseuds/thebigbengal
Summary: (For the WonderfulxStrange exchange on Tumblr!)Laura meets some helpful strangers.





	Tea Party

Red drained off the curtains; its radiation, like fire ants in Laura's eyes, cooled to a gray scale, cozy silence, the same you'd find in a friend’s house where everyone sits contently in the living room after a nice, filling dinner.

The black and white chevrons spun out into thin, blossoming vine patterns on a long carpet, while the curtains solidified into walls decorated with photo frames and flower paper. A ceiling descended from the black abyss above her head, and dropped a rectangular gas lantern on a long chain at the end of the hallway, which suddenly ended with a door that Laura had never seen before while she was there. Laura looked behind her and saw the hallway stretch for miles and miles, with no red in sight.

Laura paused to look at the strangely familiar faces in the photographs. They were like a song she heard years ago, but can’t place in her memory no matter how far she traces it back. She held herself and cried. In the Red Room she could barely choke out a word that didn’t sound garbled and disjointed, now the tears flowed freely and smoothly. She regained her composure and moved on down the hall. 

Laughter and the faintest scent of fresh baked caramel cookies were coming from behind the door. Laura pressed her ear up against it. Someone was holding a party. She turned the crystal knob and pushed the door open enough to see who was inside - three elegantly dressed women sitting in a parlor, sipping tea. The room was saturated in warm light, the ceiling above them danced with colorful shapes projected by a stained glass lamp. 

Laura peaked around the door frame; there stood a tall blue china cabinet, full of trinkets, and besides that a pair of double doors that led outside to a balcony. It was night time and barely a star in the sky. She prepared to knock when one of the women, blond and adorned in blue, called out to her. 

“Excuse me, are you looking for something?”

Laura stood at attention, “Yes, um, I don’t think- I think I am looking for something, but-” She followed her train of thought back to the beginning of that hall, except the hall never really started. “I don’t think I’ll find it here.”

“Oh that’s alright, even if this isn’t the place, it’s a step forward, right?”

“I suppose.” 

The blue woman smiled and gestured for Laura to take a seat in an empty armchair. The two other women, one brunette and wearing white, the other ginger and wearing gold, sat next to each other on a couch and greeted Laura with similar smiles.

“Now,” said the Blue Woman, “What did you lose?”

“I don’t know.” Answered Laura. 

“Hm.” Nodded the Blue Woman.

The Gold Woman spoke up, “She needs tea.”

“Hm.” Again, nodded the Blue Woman.

The Gold Woman picked out a china cup, and held it while the White Woman poured, then passed it to Laura. Hypnotized by the curiously iridescent liquid, she hesitantly sipped it, but was surprised by its taste: blackberry and apple cinnamon. 

“Good?” Asked the Gold Woman.

Laura happily nodded. She finished her cup and rested it on the saucer placed in front of her. 

“Did that help?” Asked the Blue Woman.

“I don’t know." The blackberry and apple mixture danced on the back of her tongue and restored the vestiges of, what Laura could only guess was, a simpler time, as simple and straightforward as things could be for her, but not necessarily happy. Bittersweet pangs budded in the back of her head, old heartaches, and words regrettably, and permanently, etched into her skin. She said frustrated, “God, what the hell?”

The women leaned in; the White Woman lifting up a plate of pastries, “Would you like any?”

Laura shook her head. The strange emptiness in her mind made her fingers defensively twist up and scrunch her black dress at her knees. The door she came in through stood there, quietly whispering promises of an easy escape.

“Laura, does it make you sad? Does it make you want to run?” The Blue Woman reached for Laura's stiffened hands, decorated in gold rings and coiling bejeweled bracelets, sparkling in Laura's peripheral. She met her eyes and saw that they were swimming in blue, the same blue as her mother’s. Her yellow hair fell down the sides of her face. Laura was lost in the Woman. The nose, cheeks, chin, everything coming together, forming a mirror of herself, only older, and happier. Something absolutely beyond her reach.

The other two women were the same, except with red and dark hair. The redhead looked especially like her mother, and her mouth had curled in a similar fashion when she was concerned or upset. The brunette instantly reminded her of Maddy, but also of Donna; so kind and sweet…

Laura tearfully answered the Blue Woman’s question. “Y-yes.”

“Would you like to run?” She asked.

Laura held the woman’s hand tighter. “No.”

The Blue Woman let go. The Gold woman stood up and approached the cabinet behind them, took out a key from her long sleeve, and unlocked the case. She pulled out a round, black teapot and set it down before Laura. 

The black pot hummed. It shook Laura in her seat. Her hand lifted the stone lid and it left soot all over her palm. Boiling tea jumped at her face; the steam billowed out in volcanic masses. Through the clouds, Laura reached in, and her hand sunk further and further into the pot until she was about shoulder-deep. Something soft and living gave her a small, metal trinket. Laura pulled her arm out and tangled around her wrist was a heart shaped necklace.

That sad emptiness in Laura’s chest turned sadder and emptier. She gripped the tiny heart, burying it into her skin, and planting the faces of those people in the photographs. Faces of people she’s hurt, and could only apologize to by hurting herself instead. 

The three women huddled around Laura. Their arms created a net to catch her from falling into a puddle of nothing. They opened the balcony doors together. All around them was black and blue emptiness; crystalline stars suddenly popped up like flower buds.

Laura looked over the edge. On and on the starry black shroud went, no sight of any earth beneath them. She hung over the side and waited for the black to grab her and pull her down,but instead, Laura stood back and breathed in the cold air. She held out her hand and the heart slipped through, and vanished among the stars. Gone. She felt a million times lighter. A small, “I’m sorry,” fell past her lips.

Arms wrapped around Laura once more. The White Woman looked in her eyes.

“Now how about some more tea?”

**Author's Note:**

> To saintmae: Admittedly, it's been awhile since I wrote anything, so I felt like I was really rusty while making this. It's probably the least-specific-to-a-setting-within-canon fic I ever wrote. I hope I was able to get back into form enough to make a decent fic and give you a good gift!


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